ClerithWeek Day 1
by Apocalyptic-Fairytale
Summary: Written for #ClerithWeek day 1. The theme was "slice of life".


It had been a long day for Mr. and Mrs. Strife. It was their daughter's first day of Kindergarten and neither seemed to be taking it as good as they hoped. Their precious baby was growing up so fast and while both welcomed their daughter's growth, the two couldn't deny how much they wished things would just slow down for a bit, _especially for Cloud_. When he wasn't traveling with Aerith to study ancient Cetra sites around the world, he worked as a mercenary to clear cities of hordes of monsters. Studying the Cetra was important to the whole world, but it didn't pay bills. _Fighting did._ Cloud did it as much as he could in his spare time in order to provide for his family and to ensure that Aerith could continue her important research.

Today was one of those lucky days where both of them had the day off and they looked forward to spending time with their five year old little girl. In fact, they spent the whole day counting the minutes until it was time to pick her up from her school. Aerith made chocolate chip cookies while Cloud built a blanket fort in the living room. They picked a few books to read to their daughter and selected some of the finest board-games to fill the gaps. Per Cloud's advice, Aerith even picked out a few movies the trio could watch together until bedtime.

But, they had to get her from kindergarten first.

 **...**

"I forget... what are you going to owe me again?"

Cloud looked to his wife and saw her pointing towards the sky, a cocky smirk on her face. Cloud turned his gaze upon the sky and saw large dark clouds were looming above them. The storm that had been approaching all day was finally almost upon them.

"Don't count your chickens just yet." Cloud retorted. "You bet we wouldn't make it home before the rain. It's not raining yet."

"I'm telling you," Aerith laughed, "We're never going to make it."

"We will."

Just as Cloud spoke, a clap of thunder was heard as lightning zig-zagged across the horizon. Cloud didn't even have to look at his wife to know that a smirk was playing on her lips.

" _'Don't bring a raincoat. Aurora won't need it'_ , you said."

"That's because she won't."

Again, another clap of thunder.

Aerith would have gloated some more if her motherly instincts hadn't have been so strong. On one hand, it was funny to win the bet against her husband, but on the other hand, that meant their five year old would have to walk home in the storm. Aerith felt the growing anxiety inside of her take over the playful moment. "Oh! I knew I should have just taken her coat, Cloud!" She crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head from side to side.

"It's not going to rain, alright."

Aerith was still crossing her arms as Cloud put an arm around her and hugged her close, winning a soft smile from the Cetra.

"We can make it."

"We better, or you're cleaning the dishes for an entire month. And I mean it this time."

Cloud smiled and planted a quick kiss on the temple of her head. Then, suddenly, the sky turned even darker. The freshly bloomed tree leaves started to stand on end, aiming towards the sky for the rain that seemed moments away. The green almost looked neon against the dark horizon. The wind started to pick up and sent loose leaves dancing and twirling through the air. _This is not looking good_ , Cloud thought. He really didn't want to do dishes for a whole month.

"Uh, Aerith..."

"Yeah?"

"Maybe we should run."

"Good idea."

Cloud tugged on Aerith's arm and hinted for her to follow suit.

The two ran as fast as they could down the remaining blocks. The time it took for the Strifes to make it to the kindergarten was record-breaking. It shocked Cloud to see Aerith make it there so quickly. He was used to that kind of intense exercise, but Aerith.. she was the same as always. By the time they made it to the steps of the school, Aerith was bending over to catch her breath.

"You alright?" Cloud tenderly asked as he helped Aerith to sit on the steps of the school entrance.

"I'll be... alright... Just...need to... catch... my... breath."

Without a moment to spare, the school bell rang and children started to pour out of the school. Cloud and Aerith had to step aside in order to not be in the way of other parents and their kids. They watched eagerly for their little girl to appear. "Where is she?" Cloud had a worried look on his face and Aerith couldn't help but think of how cute he was to be so worried but tried to reassure him.

"She's probably just letting other kids go first. You know how shy she is."

Then finally, they saw her coming down the steps.

Her shoulder length auburn-blonde hair was tied back into a pink ribbon. Bangs that were similar to Aerith's framed the little girl's face. It was a hot day, so Aerith opted to put her daughter in a denim overall-skirt, with a buttercup yellow dress underneath. A pair of green rainboots finished her look—a choice her daughter made all on her own.

Cloud and Aerith were smiling at first, but they quickly noticed the sad look on their daughter's face and their good mood vanished. The happy energy their daughter always had was gone completely as she slowly walked down the school steps, her head bowed in shame.

Cloud and Aerith wasted no time in questioning what had happened. Instinctively, the pair crouched to the floor to be at face-level with their daughter.

"What's the matter, baby?" Cloud said in a fatherly tone, beating Aerith to the chase.

Aurora only shook her head.

"Aurora, honey." Aerith began, "Tell mommy and daddy what happened today..." Aerith could see her husband's face starting to get more and more worried the longer their daughter stayed silent. She thought back to when she had told Cloud that he was going to be a father. He was elated at first. But as the months went by, Cloud began to think back to his own childhood and how bad it had been. He, more than anyone, knew how horrible children could be. He voiced his concerns to Aerith many times, telling her how much he worried about their children being bullied for who they are—especially as Cetra. It took some time, but eventually, Aerith managed to convince Cloud that no matter what hardships their child faced, they wouldn't be doing it alone. And Cloud had mostly put aside that worry... until now.

"Did any of the other kids say something mean, sweetie?"

Aurora slowly nodded her head to her mother's question. Instantly, Cloud's affectionate face was overcome with a hidden-anger only Aerith seemed to have noticed. He wasn't mad at Aurora, but he was mad at the other kids, the teachers, and himself for letting her be in a situation he knew would result in this sort of thing. He wasn't going to let anyone make his child go through what he did. He pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head as Aerith joined in on the embrace. The warm embrace of her parents made the little girl feel safe and suddenly tears started to fall. Cloud and Aerith instantly felt their heart break for their little girl.

Aerith ran her hand through her daughter's hair. "Do you want to tell us what they said, sweetheart?"

Both of them listened carefully for their daughter's response, "Nuh-uh..." she cried against her father's chest, her little voice shaky and muffled.

"Okay, honey." Aerith softly replied.

"You can tell us when you're ready." Cloud reassured her as he pulled his daughter away to look at her tear-stained face. "Alright?"

Aurora sniffed back some of her tears and wiped her eyes. "Okay, daddy." Aerith watched the two interact and couldn't help but smile at the sight. She heard so much about how rough Cloud's childhood was and yet... he was so affectionate and sweet with their daughter, you would never guess that he had such a painful childhood. _You raised a good man, Claudia._ Aerith thought.

Suddenly, another set of thunder rolled through the skies above them and their daughter jumped.

"Cloud," Aerith said, earning her husband's attention.

"I know." Cloud replied as he stood, his daughter reaching for his hand. "Let's go home." All three held hands as they made their way back home, with Aurora in the middle.

They were nearly home when the weather started to get worse, but Aurora seemed to love it. As soon as the wind picked up, she let go of their hands and hoped in front of her parents like a bunny, leaping into the air to try and grab the leaves that floated by her. The sound of her laughter came as a relief to Cloud and Aerith... Maybe what happened wasn't that serious... or perhaps, Aurora inherited her mother and father's skills at hiding what was bothering them. Cloud and Aerith looked at each other, their eyes having a conversation all of their own. Neither spoke, but both understood the plan that was brewing between them.

"Aurora," Aerith began. Aurora twirled around to look at her mother. "Do you want to tell us what happened at school now?"

The smile on the little Cetra's face faded as she looked towards the ground. Cloud recognized that look. It was all too familiar to him. It was the look he often made to his mother when she would ask what was bothering him as a child. Out of shame, Cloud would try and hide the horrible treatment he got from other kids. And it was clear to him that's what his daughter was doing now.

Cloud kneeled in front of his daughter, holding her little hands in his. "You can tell us anything, Aurora. Your mother and I... we'll _always_ protect you."

The girl peered up at her father's face and thought over his words. A brief silence fell between them and then she suddenly covered her eyes with her hands.

"The other kids... they said I was a freak..."

Aerith kneeled down to their daughter now, too. She brushed her daughter's bangs from her face and gently moved Aurora's hands from covering her eyes. "Why did they say that, sweetie?"

Both of them held their breath as they waited for their daughter's response.

"...'cause... I have one green eye and one blue eye." she mumbled, her voice beginning to shake.

Cloud and Aerith looked at each other for a moment then back at their daughter. They were a little relieved to hear that she wasn't being teased over being a Cetra, but this was bad, too. Their baby girl was in pain and that was all that mattered.

"That doesn't make you a freak, sweetheart." Aerith began and Cloud joined in, finishing her sentence; "That makes you special."

"... It does?"

Both nodded.

"Then why did they say mean stuff to me?"

Cloud looked to Aerith, unsure of what to say next. He couldn't very well say because kids can be assholes, could he? Aerith sensed Cloud's hesitance, and spoke for the both of them.

"Because... sometimes when children don't understand something, they say hurtful things they don't mean."

"But that doesn't make the mean things they say true." Cloud added.

The sadness on Aurora's face didn't really change much at all and Cloud racked his brain for what to do. Then he thought about how his own mother would try and make him feel better.

"Aurora. When I was your age kids said mean stuff to me, too." Cloud took a breath to prepare then continued. "They never let me play with them... and they would call me a freak."

"...They sound like jerks... I'm sorry they were mean to you, daddy." Aurora sniffled back.

"It's alright, Aurora... You wanna know why?" Cloud quickly added, his voice soft.

Aerith watched the two as Aurora nodded. As bittersweet as it was, it warmed her heart to see Cloud so vulnerable and affectionate.

"Because you and mama don't think that about me, right?"

Unlike her previous answers that came slow, Aurora immediately replied to her father's question. "Nuh, uh!" She shook her head side-to-side.

"That's all that matters, Aurora." Cloud paused for a moment. "Your mama and I, we know you're not a freak. And soon, those kids will know it, too. And one day, when they see how amazing you really are, they'll wish they would have been nicer to you."

"Do you understand, sweetie?" Aerith gently interrupted. "What they say now, it doesn't matter. All that matters is that _we_ love each other."

Aurora wiped the tears from her eyes and nodded as Cloud and Aerith happily watched a sweet smile spread on her face. Though thankful to see Aurora return to good spirits, Cloud and Aerith looked to each other, both wondering if this was the beginning of their little girl's difficult life to come. Before they could think about it any longer, thunder erupted in the distance.

"Let's get outta here before it starts to—" Rain slowly started to fall from the sky, stopping Cloud mid-sentence. Aerith slowly turned her head to face Cloud, crossing her arms over her chest as she cocked her head to the side as if to say _I told you so_. Knowing he was defeated, Cloud nodded and let out a sigh. "Dishes for a month. I know." In a matter of seconds, the rain started to pour.

"It's raining!" Aurora gleefully shouted towards the sky as she took off running.

"Aurora!" Cloud and Aerith called out but their daughter never stopped. On instinct, Aerith frantically chased after Aurora and Cloud followed suit. The little Cetra giggled and laughed the whole way home, her joy spreading to Cloud and Aerith. Luckily, the storm turned out to be nothing to fear. The clouds started to part and sun even began to shine as the rain continued to kiss the earth.

There weren't that many blocks left until they reached their home, but since Aurora would stop and splash in puddles, insisting that her parents do it, too, the time it took to get home was a bit longer than usual. By the time they arrived home, all of their clothes were completely soaked. Aurora was the first to rush into the house, leaving behind water footprints.

"Aurora! Your shoes!" Aerith put her hands on her hip as she walked into the house and saw the mess. Cloud soon walked up beside her.

"Clean this up—" Aerith pointed to all the water and mud on their foyer floor as she continued to speak, "and I'll call it even."

Cloud didn't hesitate at all when he heard those words. "Yup, got it." He eagerly stepped forward but stopped at the sound of Aerith's voice.

"Cloud! Your shoes!"

"Oh, right." Cloud kicked off his boots and headed towards their kitchen. Aerith watched in amusement at him trying to step around all of the water and mud and couldn't help but giggle.

"Cool! A blanket fort!" Aerith heard her daughter gleefully shout from the living room. Aerith started her way towards the room, a soft smile on her face.

* * *

...

 **A/N** : Written for Clerith Week, day 1 "Slice of Life". I'm not sure I like how this came out at all. It took two days of struggle and I could only read it over a few times since it was so last minute. But the odds are at least one person will like this (at least I hope so). Thanks for reading or faving... or just commenting to make me feel better. I appreciate it a lot. #Clerith4Life #ClerithWeek


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